Vincent ullman



I (No Model.)

- V. ULLMAN.

HAIR PIUKEB.

Patented Mar. 12 1895.,

NITED 1 STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VINCENT ULLMAN, OF \VASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

HAl R-PIQKER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 535,645, dated March 12, 1895.

Application filed March 9, 1894. gerial No. 503,006- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VINCENT ULLMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washing ton city, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hair-Pickers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in hair pickers and it consists of improved mechanism by which the matted or tangled hair is fed from a hopper and caught by the teeth of comb bars carried by an open revolving drum and picked and discharged on a plane above the top of the drum instead of being carried around in a concave below the drum.

It also consists of a stationary comb attached to the frame of the machine in such a manner that its teeth pass between the teeth of the comb bars on the revolving drum at an obtuse angle as the said drum is revolved and thereby the hair is separated and cleaned but not in any way torn or broken.

My invention is fully disclosed by the-devices described in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which latter-- Figure 1. represents a top plan view of the devices embodying my invention. Fig. 2. represents a side elevation of the same and, Fig. 3. represents avertical central section of'said devices.

A in the drawings, represents the main frame of the machine upon which a revolving drum B, and inclined feed hopper O, feeding rolls D, D and a stationary comb E are constructed.

The frameA is completely open on top, forward of the hopper and feed rolls.

The drum B consists of two open work circular ends I) mounted upon an axle b which is journaled in bearings b on the said main frame, and said circular ends b are connected at their centers by a hub f, and at intervals at their peripheries by comb bars H having spaced, pointed teeth h which are adapted to catch the matted hair as it is delivered from the feeding rolls, and force it upward and forward against the teeth of a stationary comb E. About one half of the periphery and ends of this drum extend up above the top of the frame, and this portion of the drum is left uninclosed. The axle b of the drum is provided at each end with a sprocket wheel. These wheels are lettered respectively c, i, and they are adapted to be operated respectively by sprocket chains I from either of the main power shafts J, J. The said axle is also provided with a fly-wheel K by means of t which the revolution of said comb drum is made even and steady. The direction of rotation of the drum is indicated by arrows and, j

by thus rotating in a forward direction, its teeth are caused to strike the hair on its under surface and force it along in a slightly upward and outward direction on a plane above the drumthe teeth withdrawing from it before they arrive at the extreme forward end of the frame.

The stationary comb E is mounted on two upright standards 6 of the main frame, and has its teeth so inclined that the teeth of the comb bafs of the drum pass between them at an obtuse angle, and are atno time in a direct line with the teeth of the revolving drum, and thus the hair,which is being forced against the said stationary comb teeth, is saved from being torn and injured. This construction, while holding the hair, permits it to readily slip therefrom whenever the pressure becomes great enough to tear the hair. This beneficial result is due to the inclination given to the stationary comb teeth.

The feed hopper G is open at its front and rear, and has an inclined bottom down which the hair travels as it is fed to the rolls D, D. The discharging throat of this hopper is in such relation to the meeting surfaces of the feed rolls, that the hair is presented between the rolls at an altitude very nearly on a plane with the upper surface of the revolving drum. These rolls are provided with longitudinal spaced ribs arranged to extend out beyond the peripheries of the rolls so as to grip and feed the hair between the rolls as it forced from the hopper O; and also to hold itunder a slight tension while being subjected to the combing operation. Thelower roll is mounted on the main power shaft J, and the upper one with its journals in the spring pressed bearings L. By this arrangement the said upper roll is kept in such a position that it is out of ICO contact with the lower roll, and can rise from this position when the hair is fed between the rolls, and when raised by the hair, it, in conjunction with the lower roll, bites upon the hair passing between the longitudinal bars on the said rolls, and holds it as firmly as required, but at the same time allows it to be drawn from between the rolls without liability of being torn. The revolution of the said upper roll is thus caused by the friction of the hair, passing forward between the rollers. Under this construction and arrangement of an upper ungeared spring acted feed roller, and a lower geared rigid feed roller, the hair can be fed through the machine very slowly, in such a manner as to better meet the peculiar requirements of the machine. In my special organization, as shown, this is very desirable, as it enables the hair to be subjected to a rapid and thorough combing and cleaning action, by the rapidly revolving drum. By having the machine fully open at the top, and the picking drum constructed to be revolved forward, the hair can be combed out straight, and be thrown by the picking drum, on nearly a straight line along the top of the machine, a distance of from ten to twelve feet, and in being thus fed, combed, and discharged, will be finished in a perfectly cleansed and ventilated condition.

In the event of the hair clogging or matting between the feed rolls and the picking drum, it is preliminarily smoothed out by the stationary comb, and in this condition passes to the drum.

The power shaft J is provided on one end with a large sprocket wheel M over which the sprocket chain passes. The lower power shaft J is provided on one end with a large sprocket wheel N, and on the other end with a small sprocket wheel n. 7

When it is desired to revolve the drum B at a relatively slow speed, the wheels M and z" are connected by the chain I and the lower power shaft remains idle, but if greater speed is desired, the wheels M and n are connected by sprocket chain I, and the wheels n and i by a similar sprocket chain (not shown) and the speed of the comb drum is thus doubled.

The operation of the machine is as follows: The matted or tangled hair is fed into the hopper O, and is caught and fed forward be tween the rolls D by the ribs or bars d of said rolls, said bars preventing the rolls from slipping on the hair as they feed it forward, and also serving for holding the hair with the requisite degree of tension while it is being combed and cleaned. As the hair is fed out at the opposite sides of the rolls, it is caught by the teeth of the rapidly moving comb drum and carried upward until it reaches the stationary comb where any matted or tangled portions are separated but not torn by the teeth of one comb bar passing between the teeth of another. The hair is then carried on by the teeth of the drum and thrown out on a longitudinal plane above the drum and far beyond'the machine by the centrifugal force of the rapidly revolving drum. The dirt and dust and small particles of hair will fall through the drum, and thus only good hair will be thrown from the machine.

The peculiar advantage of my machine over others on the market for picking hair, lies in its not tearingor breaking the hair at all but simply separating it and also removing all dirt, dust, &c., as stated above, and this is due to the fact that the hair is not passed either at the top or the bottom of the drum through a confining concave of comb bars.

WVhat I claim as my invention is A hair picker comprising in its construction a frame open at top forward of the feeding mechanism, a picking drum formed of an open frame work comprising spaced slats or bars provided with straight radial teeth, a

. shaft carrying said drum, a pair of feeding rollers, the upper one of which is loosely journaled and held in position, normally, slightly out of contact with the lower roller, by a spring, a hopper, gearing for revolving the picking drum and lower feeding roller forwardly and independently of the upper feed roller, and a stationary comb having straight, downwardly extending teeth, between which teeth, the teeth on the picking drum are adapted to pass,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VINCENT ULLMAN.

WVitnesses:

W. HARVEY MUZZY, E. T. FENWICK. 

